Allegro Varadero Information

This hotel has recently re-opened after extensive renovation works.

Allegro Varadero all inclusive resort hosts a unique Cuban town, with villas as they were in Varadero back in 1920. Beautiful private beach, marine sports, wonderful entertainment, biggest gym in Varadero and much more...

This hotel was rated a 4 star but showed more like a 2. It took us an hour and a half to get to our room as the front desk staff were rude and ignored us. The main lobby was nice but the rest of the grounds were dirty and old. all the trees and bush lining the beach were dead. The beach itself was beautiful but that was it. The front desk originally tried to put us in a room away from the main building but once we got to it we quickly refused as it smelled, the walls were stained and there were bugs all over the floor. Once we requested a room in the main building, we finally settled in a half decent room. I have traveled down south alot and this was by far the worst resort I was on.

Although hotel listed as 4 star in my opinion it should be reduced to 2 star only. Very bad management. Not maintained over all. Inside and outside of the hotel is too dirty. Understood hotel owned by a Spanish group called Occidental which I believe they need to learn a lot for hotel management. Ministry of tourism affairs of the cuba should take care what is cooking at this hotel !!!

Arrival:
You should secure some half an hour time for check-in formalities due to un educated front dest staff. Definately they have no idea what they are doing ! In addition staff totally unpolite or better to say too rude.

Rooms:
Very dirty, not maintained. Several phone calls to house-keeping department to optain some shower towels but remained with empty hands. Understood hotel has no shower towels. Inorder to make an domestic phone call you should leave your room to switchboard operator room (later on understood this system is just to collect us$ 1.00).

Restaurants and Bars:
Open buffet system. At first looking seems many dishes available but at end you understood only few you can eat. Most of the foods are tasteless. Breakfast can be rated avarage but definately better than luch and/or dinner. Both pool bar and loby floor bar working unexpectly well as bar tenders and staff are working over their capacities.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
A natural and very nice beach without facility ? Most of the chairs / chez-longs are broken. Just to have a beach towel you are visiting health club at pool side but reply is funny ! First you should go to reception desk (some 15 minutes walking and climbing 3 floors up) and to put us$ 15.00 deposit and you should come back here with receipt :))))

Great location, nice beach ...and thats where it stops. The food was not very good, although the fresh bread each day was good, and that is what we survived on. The staff appeared to try but are not supported by the management. Noisy, dusty and dirty and just too many issues to even write up here. We do not go on vacation and expect to attempting to have problems solved each day.
With a lot of work this resort might qualify for a 2 star rating

Do yourselves a service by NOT booking here. Plently of other resorts to chose from.

The location is great - the resort has a nice long and wide beach with lava rock outcroppings at each end as book marks. The food was actually pretty good - the roast pig especially. The service improved over the course of our stay but started from a seemingly indifferent base. The lobby bar is small but the service was very good. The patio-pool bar was annoyingly taken over by different bunches of inconsiderate youthful louts who partied noisely at the expense of others' enjoyment. I am embarrassed to say these rowdies are becoming the Canadian youth tourist norm in Cuba. Oh, please Mexico, get safe again so these clods can return and wear their baseball caps in your restaurants and drink themselves into obnoxious oblivion there. Management needs to be able to cut these inconsiderate oafs by cutting them off from the bar once they get out of control, and throw them out of the hotel if they persist in imposing their reckless noise on others.

OK, back to the hotel. It is earnestly trying to be better and one day, perhaps soon, with current management Allegro may turn the corner. We did had some perfect moments of Caribbean relaxation on the beach. The beds were comfortable and the rooms and hotel were kept clean. However, unless we hear hings have improved rowdy youth wise, we won't be back.

Official ratings of hotels like this one at four stars do not help anyone. The service here was lousy, staff were half-interested and the noise at night from roudy, half-civilized clientelle was terrible. We felt we had been placed in an out dated hotel from the fifties, in a strategically located West-East
showdown, as the Russian 'tourists' were occupying the beach on their terms. A drinking hole at night, with Canadians in their twenties at loose to drink and getting drunk and roudy every night.

The room was very well maintained and clean and had a beautiful view of the ocean. Too bad vacation doesn't consist of sitting in your room, as everything else in the shared space was of poor quality.

The hotel is clearly very old, but there's a lot of character. Most of the people working there were helpful with the exception of one particular lady at the front desk and some of the staff who didn't seem to understand English. It was our first time going to Cuba and it was a learning experience. The weather wasn't as warm as we would have liked, but we had a couple good beach days. The beach was cleaned regularly but was often littered in the morning with Portuguese man-o-war. There was always lots to do around the resort. By the end of the week we had figured out the best way to get good service was tip, tip, tip.

Arrival:
Our flight arrived on time and we got to the hotel around 2 PM and were told we could not check in until 4 pm. 10 CUC's got us into our room right away. The security personnel at the airport were incredibly rude, but we did'nt let that spoil our experience.

Rooms:
Our room was very spacious and had a huge balcony facing the ocean. There was a seperate walk in closet and the bathroom had a few "age" problems but was more than adequate. Myself & fellow travellers found there was a lot of mildew - more in some rooms than others. The bar fridge was stocked with water, but it didn't work and we were never able to get a replacement which was disappointing as we would have enjoyed having a cold beer on the lovely balcony. The rooms were kept clean with fresh towels every day and we always left a tip or gift for our maid.

Restaurants and Bars:
Once you got used to the blandness of the food, there was always something to eat. I would not recommend the a la carte restaurants. After 2 dining experiences we always headed back to the buffet for something good to eat. Part way through the week the hotel ran out of butter and wine never to reappear. This can either be upsetting or you can look at it that this is a Cuban experience. If everything was the same as where you come from you may as well stay at home. These people do the best they can with their limited resources and when you show appreciation for their efforts, you are treated with respect. I celebrated my birthday there and they went all out to make it special without being asked.
The bars were always stocked but sometimes the lineups could be frustrating - 20 minutes at busy times. The pool bar made the best cappuccino's and the piano bar made a special coffee - Cafe Bonbon that was to die for! Mojito's were also exceptional, but avoid the martini's - not their speciality. Get to this bar as soon as it opens to get a good seat. We didn't find this bar for a couple days, but very nice ambiance.
The buffet always had plenty of choices - lots of fresh fruit. The pastries all look amazing, but they all taste the same - kinda funny. Their ice cream is excellent. We took our Bubba Mugs everywhere with us - highly recommended. Their cheap plastic cups, just don't cut it.Also good idea to take your own hot sauce, salt & pepper or other seasonings if you can't handle the blandness.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach - kept clean, but jelly fish were often on the beach in the morning. The bar was only open a few times. You had to get to the beach early to get chairs.

Pools were crowded with people sunbathing and not too many in the pool. No problem finding a place to sit, but lineups at the bar

Grounds were kept very clean although at night there were a lot of lights along the pathways that were burned out and it was a pretty good hike to the Disco.We were able to tip a gardener into getting us a coconut and peeling the pulp out for us - very sweet treat and he seemed genuinely pleased to do this for us

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Day trip to Havana - There was a miscommunication between our Cuban travel agent and the bus line and we missed our ride, so we didn't get to go to Havana and that was disappointing. However, we went to Varadero instead and had a great time exploring the markets, the rum store and cigar store

Catamaran trip - Well worth the money. Kinda touristy, but lots of fun. Great lunch at Cayo Blanco. Beautiful beach! The guys on the Cat made it so much fun

Got a full massage - b'day gift from my sisters - Very professional and verrrry thorough.

Had fun at the disco and pretty well missed every evening show.

Other Comments:
Find your guest services person right away - they sit near the front desk. Ask them lots of questions. Find the concierge too. They have lots of info, but you have to ask for it. They know surprisingly little outside of the hotel.

My brother-in-law became ill while we were there and had to be rushed to the local hospital. Can't say enough good things about the quality of care he rec'd and the low cost for all that was done.

Rooms:
cuban 4 star older resort quality room is accurate. Clean,bedseats changed daily.Maid service consistently good.central A/C No bugs.No mushy odours.
New electronic safe.Colour TV with 15/20 channels.Comfortable bed and lounge
bed great for younger child. Quiet.Nice granite bathroom with bathtub,plenty of Hot water.Great water pressure better then most hotels in cuba.Separate
toliet with excellent flush pressure.Small balcony.
Hallway in main building older and 3 star feel.Only complaint door did not shut properly and you had to lift up and force to close.

Restaurants and Bars:
Here is the heart of the problem. I was expecting that the main buffet restuarant be open every night for dinner.It was closed all week.Only open for
breakfast which is 3 star variety and food. Even for low season this should
not close for dinner or lunch.

Only beach restuarant and snack bar open for lunch buffet.Very limited and repititious.Beach grill one 0nly cannot handle lunch crowd rush of 100 +
people and many walked away with no meats or waited 30+ minutes.Food buffet
I would rate 2 stars worse than many cuban 2 star resorts which are better.

We ate a la cartes every night which are ok but very repetitive with the same
choices nightly. Quality 3 stars. Thin cuts of steak,chicken or pork not up to
cuban 4 star.

Your Arrival:
The arrival at the hotel went very smooth. We got our bands, keys, and luggage to our room in about 15 minutes. The lobby and main floors very nice.

Rooms:
Absolutely awful. We were in the main building because of low occupancy on the fourth floor. The room was crawling with tiny red ants. In the drawers, everywhere. The floor had not been swept or mopped from the previous guests or once while we were there. The AC was basically just a fan, the fridge didn't work No screens on the patio doors, so the mosquitos feasted on us every night. Sheets were stained but clean I think?

Restaurants and Bars:
The restaurants were good, although we only got to see the one because all the other ones were closed. No, 24 hr. snack bar like they said. The buffets
were basically the same every day.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach, pools and grounds were nice, and pretty clean thanks to a very friendly groundskeeper name Raymond.

Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
The tennis court is in terrible shape, no choice really in the entertainment
because they only ran 1 show a night.

Other Comments:
You can't buy ice there to have in your room so you have to constantly go down to the bar and ask for it. They don't have internet either, like they said in the brochure. So we had to drive to the plaza and spend 30 pesos (approx. $32.00 for 15 minutes to let my sons know we arrived safe. Most of the elevators didn't work, and the ones that did didn't work right. There are cracks and chips on the tileing going to your rooms so watch your step.

We had a Good time in Cuba but it was not because of this so called 4 star hotel, (maybe a 2). We definately WILL NOT be staying at this hotel if we go back

This is by no means a 4 star resort as suggested by the brouchure. At best it would be a 2 star. We did not pick the resort but rather were there for a wedding. Our stay started with me tripping on the step of the bus as we arrived at the resort. There was no safety strip and the carpet was a dark colour. I stepped half on and half off the step and severly twisted my foot. I thought it was broken and managed to make my way to the lobby where I almost passed out. I sent my son to get some water while my husband checked us in but he couldn't find anyone around to point him in the right direction. Another guest noticed my distress and offered to get some water. She had to go to the store to purchase it. Luckily it was only a sprain but very painful.

Your Arrival:
As we arrived my husband went to the desk to check us in. We arrived at approx 1:00 pm but the room would not be ready until 4:00 pm. I sat in the lobby while my husband and kids went for lunch and to get me some ice for my foot. While I waited for them the bride & groom came through the lobby and noticed me. I explained what had happened and she went to the desk to ask that they get us in a room asap. They told us 30 minutes. We left the lobby at 3:30 to join some other guests that had arrived a few days earlier. We came back a couple of hours later and our room was ready but it was at the furthest point from the main building that you could get and up one flight of stairs. When we got to the room I asked my husband where the passports were and he remembered that when he had originally checked in she said she had to keep them until the room was ready. Why?? We went to the lobby to get them and there they were in a tray on the top of the desk within reach of anyone and everyone. There were many there. We told them we needed a different room because of my injury but were told we would have to come back at 10 the next morning. After hearing some horror stories about the rooms from other guests we decided not to move.

Rooms:
The room was not bad although it was a long walk to the main building. We had a two room suite as we had 2 kids with us but the air conditioning did not work in one room. We did not always have the correct number of towels but that was not a huge problem.
My son & his girlfriend had no water pressure in their shower and the room was infested with ants. They requested a new room and were given one.

Restaurants and Bars:
The first morning we went to the buffet and found that the food was not bad but when we tried to put two tables together when my son and his girlfriend joined us we were told that we could not do that. She wanted us to move to a large round table but it was dirty and we had to wait while she found someone to clean it. Made no sense at all. After not getting the coffee and tea we had ordered and having to ask for silverware and napkins my husband told them that they should be more concerned with service than someone putting two tables together. From that point on that section of the buffet was closed. They did not have enough staff to man both sections. In the evening there would be line up waiting to get in as they had one section closed. There was never any cutlery or napkins on the tables and often they were dirty as were the dishes. The worst part was the mould in the dining room. Large areas of black mould all over the ceiling and black dots on the walls. Pretty disgusting. There was water dripping from the ceiling one day while we were there. We had a small amount of mould in our bathroom but our friends had to change their room because of the amount of mould in theirs. I came home with a very sore throat and when I went to emergency upon our return it was suggested that my problem was allergy to possibly the mould.
The a la carte restaurants had a dress code of long pants, long sleeved shirts and closed in shoes for men. We made a reservation at the steak house and when we got there they would not let us in because my son had shorts and sandals on. We explained that he was a kid but the attendant said "no,he is a man". We left after expessing our thoughts on the policy and never made any further reservations because later on another guest came up to us and told us the we didn't miss anything. She had observed the incident but wanted to let us know that the food was terrrible and thought even her salad was rotten. If this had been a nice 5 star or even a 4 star as stated I would have accepted the dress code but we were on vacation and were not prepared to dress up. Most places have a dress code of long pants which usually they do not enforce but this was a bit much! The beer was usually flat and warm. Once I saw them fill my mug with beer from the overflow jug below the tap. I guess they didn't want to waste any! They often ran out of beer at the various bars.

Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The grounds were neglected and there was never anyone doing any gardening or grounds keeping. The beach was very small but clean. The pools were fine. The biggest problem there was the smell of sewage that would waft up from certain spots, especially around the outside bar area near the main pool.
The public washrooms were pretty but but the men's at the main pool bar was so bad that the smell at the entrance was enough to make you sick.

Other Comments:
The resort is very old and not very well maintained. It is very sprawling. They do not have enough staff and what they did have was not helpful or friendly. Usually when you check in you are given cards for beach towels. With the commotion of my situation my husband didn't notice that he wasn't given any. We didn't think about it until we were on the beach the first day so the next day we went to the desk to ask about towels and were told we had to purchase the ticket for 15 pesos each and when we left we would get our money back. We had to exchange our money at the bank but the bank was closed all day due to technical problems so therefore we could not get towels. We reported the air conditioning not working on two occasions but it was never fixed.
We have been travelling for over 20 years and have been to many different countries and resorts but this is by far the worst we have seen. We are very aware that we are not in Canada when we travel but when I pay for a 4 star I expect a 4 star even if it is by Cuban standards. This resort does not deserve a 4 star rating and has a long way to go to get even close. I would not recommend anyone go there even if it is really cheap.